USS Carl Vinson Archives

North Korea Threatens Nuclear Attack

April 14, 2017/in Archived Blogs

Tensions between North Korea and the United States are escalating. North Korea is warning of the possibility of a nuclear attack on the United States in response to any sign of American aggression.

Currently, a United States Navy Strike Group, a force President Trump has described as an “armada”, is en route to the western Pacific. The strike group heading towards Korea includes the nuclear-powered flagship aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, two destroyers and a cruiser. Such a strike group may also be accompanied by submarines.

Referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Trump said: “He is doing the wrong thing.” Asked if he thought Kim was mentally fit, Trump replied: “I don’t know. I don’t know him.”

According to North Korea’s newspaper, Rodong Sinmun,”Our revolutionary strong army is keenly watching every move by enemy elements with our nuclear sights focused on the United States invasionary bases that are not only in South Korea and the Pacific operation theatre but also in the United States. main land.”

Defense Secretary, James Mattis, said the deployment is a matter of prudence. “She is just on her way up there because that is where we thought it was most prudent to have her at this time,” he said at a Pentagon news conference.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump had put North Korea “clearly on notice” that he would not tolerate certain actions but dismissed Pyongyang’s nuclear attack threat.

“I think there is not any evidence that North Korea has that capability at this time,” he said. “Threatening something that you don’t have the capability of isn’t really a threat.”

North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests, two of them last year, and is working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States. This presents President Trump with perhaps his most pressing security issue. It has been said that President Obama told then President-elect Trump that Korea would be the most critical concern of his administration.

Trump tweeted, “If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them!”

Editor’s Note: These are very scary times for all. I have had the opportunity to spend time aboard a United States aircraft carrier. My biggest take away from the time aboard is that our Navy is constantly training and dedicated to being the very best. We are in good hands.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, and their families.

New Year Saw Rare Aircraft Carrier Deployment Gap

January 31, 2017/in Government, Military, Military News

By Debbie Gregory.

As the first month of 2017 draws to an end, we learned a very interesting fact.

For the first week of this year, for the first time since World War II, no U.S. aircraft carriers were deployed, anywhere, a Navy spokesman confirmed.

Had the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which had been in the Persian Gulf, delayed its return to its homeport of Norfolk, VA by a few days, this would not have been the case.

The unusual gap in carrier presence is due in part to longer-than-expected maintenance for the USS George H.W. Bush, which was supposed to take eight months, but ended up taking 13 months. The Navy blamed the delay on increased wear and tear that resulted from an extended deployment. If it had left when it was supposed to, instead of on January 21^st, it would have relieved the Eisenhower in the Gulf.

The George H.W. Bush is the tenth and final Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy, named for the 41st President of the United States. Construction began in 2003at the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard’s Dry Dock 12, the largest in the western hemisphere, and was completed in 2009 at a cost of $6.2 billion.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the absence of a carrier in the Gulf or the Pacific does not mean the U.S. is vulnerable.

The USS Carl Vinson is on routine deployment to the Western Pacific after having received some $300 million worth of improvements.

The USS Makin Island, an amphibious assault ship, is on deployment in the Middle East. The ship is smaller than an aircraft carrier and deploys with Marines, landing craft and helicopters.

“We have had a significant presence in both those areas and will continue to have a significant presence even though we may not at any one particular time have an aircraft carrier there,” Cook said.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, and their families.

Military Connection: Lost Pilot Presumed Dead: By Debbie Gregory

September 16, 2014/in Archived Blogs

Airdales across the U.S. Navy are mourning the loss of their own after two F/A-18C jets from the U.S.S. Carl Vinson (CVN-70) collided over the Pacific Ocean, near Wake Island. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group left San Diego in August for a nine and a half month deployment.

The collision happened on September 12, 2014, just seven miles from the carrier. Both aircraft and pilots were from Carrier Air Wing 17, which is based out of Naval Air Station Lemoore in California.

One of the pilots was recovered by rescue approximately 45 minutes after the crash by helicopters that were deployed from the Carl Vinson.

The guided missile destroyers USS Gridley (DDG-101), USS Sterett (DDG-104) and USS Dewey (DDG-105), and the guided missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) all participated in the search for the other pilot. After a 36-hour search turned up no sight of him, the missing pilot was presumed dead.

The lost pilot has been identified as 26 year old Lt. Nathan Poloski of Lake Arrowhead, California. Poloski was a 2009 graduate of the Naval Academy. Reports say that Poloski dreamed of being a naval aviator since his mother took him to see the iconic Blue Angels when he was child. After achieving his dream of becoming a Navy Flyer, Lt. Poloski planned to fulfill his second dream of going to medical school and becoming a doctor.

The cause of the collision is under investigation.

The staff at Military Connection would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Lt. Poloski, as well as to the men and women of Carrier Air Wing 17, and the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group.

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